Complete Mega Summerfest 2032: Ice Cream Recovery Service

[Yugam]

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"You should definitely check him out!" Ari said enthusiastically. "He's got a lot of really good songs. Mostly chill vibes, I love his music." Ninety percent of the time, when Ari didn't know what he wanted to listen to, Ari would pull up keshi and just start listening. While a lot of his songs were kind of sad, they carried the emotion well, in a way Ari felt few other artists did.

"Mm, DAYEOSONG?" Ari repeated, the name ringing some bells. "I think I've hear of her before. Don't think I've heard any of her songs though. Maybe we should go check her out?" the man suggested, open to the idea of discovering some new artists.

"Haven't heard of NOVA though. What does she make? EDM?" The name alone seemed to indicate as much, one never really knew. What a plot twist it would be if she actually made folk music, or something like that. Not that Ari would complain, folk songs were always fun to sing.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"Chill vibes are the best, if he's as good as you claim I'm totally adding him to some of my playlists~

Besides at the very least it would probably lead to her Spotify algorithm to fish out new recommendations for the blonde, if there was something she was always open to was discovering good music to enjoy on her free time. "Her songs are really good, also through her artist radio is how I discovered KOHH and a few others." That had resulted in Valeria then discovering multiple other Japanese singers too, one of the many music rabbit holes the blonde had jumped into and never regretted.

"You haven't heard of NOVA, really? She's been all the sensation this year, especially after signing with Starlight Records." She hadn't thought it possible to find someone that had escaped hearing about the artist, but then again Valeria supposed there was a first for everything. "Mhmm, she's been focusing on EDM a lot recently... though she's dabbled out of it on occasion."

Another spoonful to beat the incoming heat, before the blonde gave her companion a discreet side eye glance, a grin already tugging at her lips as she spoke.

"Alright, fair is fair... you already know where I'm from, so what about you Ari?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

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"Oh, I've heard a bit of KOHH before," Ari said. "He's good I like him."

"I don't really keep up with like, music news or anything like that," the man explained with a slight chuckle. "Too bad she ain't making a showin' though. If she's as good as you say, I bet she woulda put on a killer show." Though Ari wasn't entirely certain about the veritable mosh pit that would almost certainly occur at a popular artist's show like that. So many hot, sweaty bodies bumping into each other. That was probably one of the few things that Ari genuinely hated about concerts and festivals.

"Alright, fair is fair... you already know where I'm from, so what about you Ari?" Valeria asked.

"I'm from Philly," the man responded. "So no where as interesting as Puerto Rico," he chuckled. "Though, I am told we have great cheesesteaks."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"Right? He's really good, and I like that his style has some variations too... plus the voice? Just amazing~"

A nod of agreement was given as Ari mentioned that he wasn't one to keep up with music news and the like, another bit of the ice cream spooned into her mouth as the blonde listened.

"Same, most of the time I discover any artists it's through Twitch chat recommendations while I'm streaming." It helped that the woman wasn't particularly inclined into any one specific genre too, so whenever her viewers offered up new music she was more than happy to look into is during her streams. "That and the now very confused Spotify algorithm, of course~"

So he was from Philly in PA, huh? Lucky~ His winters were probably on the warmer side when compared to those of Ludington, MI that Valeria now endured... though if asked she would still prefer the changing seasons in Michigan over the constant ass swamp temperatures that prevaled Puerto Rico year round.

"Gosh, Philly cheesesteaks are sooo good~ It was one of my favorite sandwiches to order at El Mesón when I lived in the island."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

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"Oh, you're a streamer?" Ari asked, his curiosity suddenly peaking. "What do you usually play?" The most normal question ever. Because what the hell else was he going to ask? Surprisingly, for someone who played games like it was a religious requirement, he hardly ever watched streams. Maybe that was because he could hardly ever sit down long enough to watch TV either.

"Okay, dude, best sandwich ever. There's this diner in this old ass brick building. It doesn't look like much on the outside, but you walk in and it surprises you, but like, that's besides the point. Anyways, they got the best fuckin' roast beef sandwiches in the world. And I bet their cheesesteaks hold up just as well. It's like a ten minute drive across the river from where I live, but if it were any closer, I would weigh about a hundred pounds more, on god."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"Yeah~" She gave Ari a bright grin as he asked about her work. "Not like a super famous one mind you, but it makes enough to cover the bills and then some."

It helped that her grandparents had left Valeria a house that had already been paid off in its entirety, and even renovated shortly before the girl had officially flown out to permanently life with them. "Most of the time I let the viewers pick what I'll play for the session, but on the rare occasions I get to pre-record I'll usually do Final Fantasy fourteen or some The Sims five if I'm feeling creative." Granted when it came to The Sims series feeling creative could be expressed in a wide variety of ways... though Valeria did enjoy designing homes and other places in-game and sharing them with the community.

"Gosh, roast beef sandwiches are just the best... honestly it's not fair how stupidly delicious that thinly sliced beef is when pressed between bread."

By now her ice cream cup had been consumed, the blonde deviating her steps just a bit as they passed a nearby trash can so she could dispose of the item, before opening her water bottle for another sip. "It's not fair that food in general can be sooo delicious, gods know what I'd actually weigh myself if I wasn't active and didn't work out." A habit she had picked up from a young age, the exercise served to cope with other things in her life at the time... but was also a necessity considering the extensive variety of absolutely delicious dishes the little island in the Caribbean offered.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

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"Dude, that's so fucking cool," Ari said as Valeria explained what it was that she did. "I'd kill to be able pay my bills with a gig like that. What's your handle? Maybe I'll check you out sometime." Or at least let the stream play in the background while he did...whatever it was he'd be doing now. With no more school to take care of, and just looking for work, Ari was finding himself with more free time than he knew what to do with. The boy was finding himself bored out of his mind if he wasn't in Terrasphere.

"Especially with the drippings to dip the whole thing in? My god," the raven-haired man groaned, salivating at just the thought. "Hey, you think any of the food trucks around here got a good roast beef?" the man wondered as they approached the trashcan. Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, Ari shoveled whatever ice cream hadn't melted into his mouth, only to screw his eyes shut as an ice cold stab of pain lanced through the base of his skull. "Oh, bad idea," he muttered as he pinched his temples, willing the brain freeze to go away.

Recovering enough to actually throw away the now soupy cup of ice cream, the man turned back to Valeria. "I bet you guys have some really good food where you live. I've never been to Puerto Rico, but hell, I'd go just try the food."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"Sure, that'd be pretty cool! It's Flor de Maga~"

Valeria pulled her iPhone out of her short's side pocket then, a quickly glance and swipe upwards on the screen unlocking the device, before she pulled out her stream channel to show Ari the proper spelling. "It's an endemic flower of the island, and our national flower too." As usual there always came a pressing need to quickly clarify the source of her gamer tag inspiration whenever Valeria brought it up in the states... last she needed, or even wanted, was others thinking it was related to something else.

"Oooh, that's actually not a bad idea... with such a large event they've all surely brought their A game over, right?"

Ari's question had already gotten Valeria's mind gears going, perhaps a little food tasting would be in order... just to ensure the quality of the items being sold around the park were up to quality standards, of course. It was then she spotted Ari decide to try and finish his ice cream cup in one go, an eyebrow arching before she watched with faint amusement the predictable outcome that followed.

"Tsk tsk, really? You should know better than to try that~" There was a soft chuckle as she watched the man pinch his temples, deciding to offer him a helpful tip. "If you press your tongue against the roof of your mouth firmly it'll usually make it go away faster... although using your thumb can work too."

It took a moment but eventually the man got the situation under control, the remains of his soupy ice cream now unceremoniously tossed away to the trash can as their food conversation continued. "Your tastebuds will be in for a wild ride if you do, there's a running joke that the national pastime in the island is eating and drinking." If there was one thing the Caribbeans excelled it was using spices to really pop the flavors of food, and that wasn't a skill reserved to just Puerto Rico.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

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Pulling out the small notebook from his back pocket again, Ari jotted down the username, alongside Valeria's name, 'Twitch' and 'Summerfest 2032', before slipping the item back into his pocket. "It's very pretty," the man commented as the girl showed him the flower on her phone. "Why'd you pick it?"

"I sure as hell hope so. How lame would it be if all the food at fuckin' Summerfest was trash?" Very lame. The answer was 'very lame'. Besides, food trucks were almost always great. Maybe a little bit overpriced, but the taste was always amazing.

Ari had heard that bit of advice before, when it came to dealing with brain freezes, so as he pinched his temples, he pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, just as Valeria had suggested. He never could actually tell if it made the pain subside any quicker, but it was worth a shot.

"Maybe you can show me all the good local spots?" Ari asked, giving his temples one last rub before letting his hand fall away, the ice cold pain now finally gone. "I always like going to like, the weird hole in the wall local places over tourist traps when I'm in a new place. Get the authentic experience, ya know?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"It's very pretty, why'd you pick it?"
"For that very reason actually, they're too gorgeous not to showcase in an avatar~"

She'd watched as he'd pulled out the small leather notebook once more, scribbling a few things before it was promptly returned to the back pocket of his dark jeans. "You're always so diligent...?" The comment held a hint of curiosity, though other than that it was more of a casual remark that anything else. He was free to let it be if it wasn't a topic Ari wanted to breach.

"Gosh could you imagine? I'm pretty sure at least one person would get fired, if not more, after all that would spread like wildfire all over the internet in a matter of hours."

There was a certain amount of monetary investment that went into organizing and hosting events of such a large scale and magnitude after all, and with that kind of money being tossed around Valeria highly doubted they'd allow their day to be ruined by something as poor quality food... no doubt any food truck and stall in the area must have been extensively vetoed before being allowed into the premises.

"Yeah the tourist traps are overpriced and they suck anyways... nothing beats the old lady frying bacalaitos and alcapurrias by the side of the road, especially when paired with a recently picked and chilled coconut for a drink~"

It had been years since she'd visited the island, at first the blonde having been so glad to get away from the heat and her mother that Valeria had no desire to step foot back into it. Later on the health of her grandparents had deteriorated, and with her as their sole caretaker the woman simply hadn't had time for much else... perhaps she could find a good enough excuse to visit her island sometime soon.

"If you're ever actually serious about visiting let me know, I'll act as your personal guide." She gave him a peace sign along with the words, before a sly smirk crossed her lips. "Who knows, maybe I can get us some pitorro too~"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

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"Hmm?" Ari hummed a question to Valeria before realizing she was referring to his pocketbook. "Oh, uh, I guess," he said with a chuckle. "I actually have a really bad memory due to an accident from when I was in high school. Just helps me to remember things if I write it down. Plus, if I forget, I know I can always look in there again to see what's up," he explained. It wasn't really worth going in depth about what happened with someone he'd just met. That was way too heavy a conversation, and the last thing Ari wanted to do was kill the mood.

"That right there would probably be the death of the Mega Summerfest," Ari said, only half-joking. Valeria was right on the money, the internet could kill faster and more thoroughly than anything else. Hell, she knew better than he did, given the fact that she streamed for a living.

"I have absolutely zero clue what either of those things are, but I am down to try almost anything at least once," the man said with a chuckle. Hell, food was food. As long as he wasn't eating a bug or something, he'd eat it. Or drink it. Whatever.

"Oh for sure! Honestly, this is the first vacation I've taken in uh..." Ari started counting the years on his fingers, trying to figure out the last time he'd taken time off from work and school to just enjoy himself. "Five years?" he finally said, holding up a whole extended hand.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"I s-see, I'm sorry to hear that..." Well shit, now she felt kinda bad for even pointing the pocketbook out in the first place. Valeria couldn't imagine how drastically differently and complicated ehr life would be if her memory was worse than it already was on certain days, and for Ari to have something like that happen in high school of all moments would've no doubt complicated things further. "I-It looks like you've found a good way to handle it though... honestly that's not a bad habit to have over all, maybe I should try it out sometime."

She was supportive as the man took the lead to take their conversation back to lighter topics, a nod given in agreement to his statement. "People underestimate what a bunch of strangers on the internet can achieve if they band up and harrass enough..." Granted sometimes it was well deserved, but more often than not it was just people emboldened by anonymity that jumped the gun too early.

Still, the threat was very much real and Valeria had little doubt that the team behind the Mega Summerfest would do everything in their power to avoid such a scenario.

"Fried food, basically—especially common to have while you're at any of the gorgeous beaches that can be found all around the island, though not limited to just there of course~"

Five years huh... his words caused the blonde to take a moment and think back herself to the last time she had enjoyed a vacation. "Yeah... about four or so years in my case, shortly after high school graduation actually." To celebrate her achievements Valeria's grandparents had booked a trip to Disney, the week long escapade being one of the blonde's most cherished memories as a result.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

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Nice job, Ari. Way to kill the vibes. Should've just said that you have room temperature IQ or something. "Don't be sorry," Ari said. "Not like it was your fault or anything." Thank god this girl was moving the conversation in a less depressing direction. "Yeah, it's definitely a good habit for me. To be honest, my memory nowadays isn't the worst, I could probably get by without writing stuff down, but ya know, just in case," the raven haired man shrugged.

"Yeah, no kidding," Ari agreed. "Ya know, that's probably one of the few things that I think is absolutely abhorrent about the internet. Like cancel culture and the fact that people can just kinda say whatever and people will believe them makes me think that the internet should've never been created." The sheer power of people's unbridled voices was frightening, uncontrollable. It was the kind of thing that needed to be handled responsibly, but couldn't by its very nature.

"Mm, fried food." Ok, yeah all this food talk was making him hungry. "Alright, let's go find a food truck," Ari said with a laugh. "If we keep all this up, I'm gonna eat a fuckin' horse. My treat?"

"Yeah, that's what I did too," Ari said. "I went to South Korea for my graduation. See my heritage and all that. What about you, where'd you end up?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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She could understand that, after all there was a reason the saying old habits die hard existed, and objectively thinking it wasn't a bad habit for Ari to have.

"Overall I wouldn't say I abhor it, after all there's many good things that have come from the internet existing too." Did it have its bad sides? Abso-fucking-lutely, and Valeria had experienced it enough—especially given her line of work now. Of course there were the many technical advances that had spurred on too, but that wasn't something the blonde was going to get into. "Not to mention the way it can connect people together, suddenly being half way around the world doesn't really matter as much y'know?"

In the end it was like many things in life, the internet was just a neutral tool that existed in the world—whatever good or bad that came out of it was dependant on who was fiddling with it at the time.

"I guess the main issue is how a small group can have such a high impact, to the point that it taints and skewers the view of others into a topic... but at the same time that's because people don't bother to look past the surface of things?"

After all people loved drama, so it was natural in a way that they would default to whatever provided the most amusement instead of actually putting the effort to veto the story first.

"Time to find the best roast beef then~?" A wide grin spread on her face as Ari circled back to the topic of a meal, his offer to treat her silently accepted when the blonde didn't refute it. "I think we still have some time before DAYEOSONG is schedule to play?"

Her eyebrows rose high in surprise as Ari shared what his graduation gift had been. "Oh wow, that's amazing actually. How was it, did everyone enjoyed getting back in touch with their roots?" Valeria would be lying if the girl said she wasn't interested in hearing more about it.

"Mine was a lot simpler in comparison, my grandparents and I went to Disney—I had always wanted to go, but never had the chance, so they decided to fix that."

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[Yugam]

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"Don't get me wrong, I love the internet," Ari clarified. "But it's like you said, small groups get a loud voice, and people don't bother fact checking anything. The internet's a powerful tool, and people just don't use it responsibly." And that just came back to human nature. It wasn't the inherent nature of the thoughtless ones and zeros that made up the data of the internet, it was inherently human to misuse things for one's own gain without any forward thought. Call Ari a cynic.

"Pfft, best roast beef, Old Original Nick's. Maybe we find a close second. Or hell, maybe there's something new around to try, I'm down for anything right now. All this food talk has me starving," Ari said with a grin to match Valeria's own. "We should definitely be able to catch her show if we're quick. Got a taste for anything in specific?" he asked the girl.

"Oh, just me with the roots and leaves," Ari said with a slight chuckle. "I'm adopted, the rest of my family is super Greek. But yeah, we all loved it. My little sister especially, that was the first time any of us had been out of the country outside of visiting family in Greece," the man explained. "It was so pretty over there, and the food was fucking amazing. One hundred percent would go back if given the chance."

"Disney is great," Ari also commented. "I've only been once though, when I was a little kid, so I don't remember it very well. I bet you got to go see all the new rides and stuff! That's really sweet of your grandparents too to take you there."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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A part of her was surprised at how much fun she was actually having, especially considering that meeting Ari had been purely accidental... and yet they seemed to share various similarities and tastes so far. It wasn't often that stumbling into a total stranger, especially on large events like this one, could lead to naturally organic conversations after all.

"Old Original Nick's...?" She tilted her head slightly as the words tumbled out, not familiar with that establishment. "Is that like a PA exclusive one?"

There was a soft shrug as Ari asked if the blonde was craving anything in particular. "Well ice cream was already my pick in a way, so I'll let you choose this time. After all it's only fair since you're paying~" That and she was also a bit curious to see what the man would go for given the various options available in the park.

"Oh wow, look at you—visiting South Korea and Greece too!" Her words held a light teasing, though the smile on her lips showed it was all in good nature. "That's actually really impressive~ I'd love to one day have the chance to visit different countries and get to try their authentic cuisine."

Unfortunately that wasn't something Valeria had managed to achieve yet, having spent the first 16 years of her life in Puerto Rico and then the last five in Michigan. Aside from that one trip to Disney in Florida, and now this trip to enjoy the summerfest, the blonde hadn't really had the chance to travel as mucha s she would've liked... not to mention that it could get quite expensive too the further out into the world one wanted to branch out into for a peek.

"Mhmm! Honestly I'm glad I got to go when I was a bit older, otherwise there might've been quite a few rides I wouldn't have enjoyed—or even missed out on—if I had gone as a small child... and it was still a pretty magical experience overall. We all had a lot of fun that week..."

It was probably one of her fondest memories too, especially considering how things quickly went downhill after that...

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

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"Yeah, they got a few locations around Pennsylvania," Ari explained, flashing a cheeky smile, "so you gotta be in the know."

There was something to be said about managing to find someone you meshed well with in a crowd of thousands. Between their seemingly shared tastes in music, and the fact that they were both very food-centric people had made it very quick to jump into conversation and start becoming comfortable. In a way they had managed to skip the whole awkward 'getting to know you' phase. And speaking of food...

"Let's take a gander at what they got and see what looks good," Ari said as he started walking in the direction of all the food trucks.

"Oh same, that's one of my favorite parts of visiting new places. Like, I grew up around cooking and food and stuff, 'cause its part of Greek culture, right? I'm sure it was pretty similar with you," Ari said, launching into his next excited speech. "So food is like sharing and learning about cultures to me," the man was smiling just thinking about all the different foods out there that he could try. Or maybe he was smiling at the Asian-Mexican fusion truck he'd just stopped in front of. "Not to mention it tastes good. Wanna get some of that?" Ari asked, pointing at the fusion food truck.

"That sounds like a really good time," Ari said with a soft smile as Valeria finished reminiscing about her trip. For a moment, Ari felt a little melancholic that he didn't have many of those kinds of memories, lost in the fog of time. But at least she had that pleasure. A precious one.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"Well no fair, now I wanna try those and they're not here."

There was a pout on her face and a whine to her words, though the façade was eventually dropped moments later when the blonde finally gave a grin back to the man. It wasn't entirely a lie of course, Valeria was curious about this Old Original Nick's shack now, but she wasn't about to demand the impossible of Ari.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea~" She easily fell into step besides the raven haired man as if it was the most natural thing. "Mmm... what's New York super famous for? We could see if any of the stands around here live up to the hype~"

Her smile had faltered somewhat as Ari assumed her childhood experience with food had been similar to his, but she had recovered quickly as less desirable memories where forced back into the recesses of her mind. "Yeah, both of my grandparents were as food motivated as I am—especially grandpapa—and thanks to them I got to try out a lot of things." She even had the various notebooks and index cards her grandfather had made for recipes he'd tweaked and perfected over the course of his life... and while her skills in the kitchen weren't anywhere near to what his had been the blonde had continued to slowly improve.

"Oh, this is an interesting concept..." She hadn't realized their steps had taken them closer to the Asian-Mexican food truck until Ari pointed towards it. "Yeah, let's give it a try!"

Her eyes slowly looked over the menu available, surprised at the various options available, before looking at the man besides her. "Anything caught your eye yet?" There were a few items she was considering, still unable to narrow the selection down further, so she was curious to see what Ari would be going for.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

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"I guess sometime you gotta come visit and we can hit all the good spots," Ari said with a cheeky smile, leaning just close enough to Valeria to bump shoulders with her. "Can't say much about the rest of Philly, but hey, that's a good excuse for a road trip." Look at the boy. Planning to hang out and take a road trip with someone he just met. Character development, fuck yeah.

"Uhhh, pizza?" Ari said uncertainly what else New York was really well known for. Wall Street, maybe. But they couldn't eat that. "We'll have to see."

Ari picked up on the past-tense usage of Valeria's words. For a moment, the man felt a tad bit guilty for going on about them unnecessarily. "Was he a good cook?" Ari asked, his voice a bit softer than it had been before.

The two walked up to the food truck and started examining the menu, all of which looked incredibly good. Ari's mouth was watering as he read all the various options. Tacos, burritos, all with an Asian twist. He wanted to try them all.

"Ok, so here me out," Ari said, glancing over at Valeria, "what if we both get one big thing, and we can split so we can try more things?" And hey, he was paying. Wasn't like he was hurting for cash.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"Who knows, maybe I will..." His smile was returned with a teasing one of her own, the blonde softly leaning towards Ari in response as their shoulders touched. "But only if you'll be my personal guide if I go~"

Normally planning a road-trip with a stranger that she'd just met in a mega event would've been a huge no-no for the girl, however Valeria couldn't deny that she had been enjoying her time so far with Ari. It wasn't often she found someone that she simply clicked with so seamlessly, and it made her want to know more about him in turn.

"Well yeah, but I meant aside from pizza... surely that can't be the only edible thing New York is famous for, right?"

Nothing against pizza of course, it was delicious after all, but Valeria wouldn't deny she would be shocked if that was literally the only food The Big Apple was famous for.

"Was he a good cook?"
"Grandpapa? Yeah, he was the absolute best... though I might be biased on that opinion."

For a moment her smile seemed to dim as Valeria spoke, though there was a lingering fondness that accompanied the words as the blonde allowed herself to revisit memories she hadn't thought about in a while. "If you're ever in Michigan I'll treat you to his famous fish soup, it's especially tasty when it's chilly outside." She finally looked at the boy besides her, giving him a wink, before her attention turned to the menu and its many delectable options that made it oh so very hard to choose just one from the board.

"... you just read my mind~" Already she was enjoying her time with Ari, but he was definitely speaking her language now as the suggestion was floated in Valeria's direction. "I was leaning towards a japanese curry beef burrito, how about you?"

@Yugam